M. Tech. Language practice / At the centre of the messages and information disseminated to the public, there is language. This study investigated the role played by language when health awareness campaigns are planned by the Department of Health (DoH) in South Africa. The background and rationale of the project is discussed, with special reference to the language speakers in Pretoria, since the study was undertaken in this area. Pretoria is a city occupied by residents that are representative of all South African language groups; namely, English, Afrikaans, Sotho, Nguni, Venda, and Tsonga. This coming together of all languages in one small area of the country has indirectly led to the evolution of a language that has never stopped to grow over the years. This language that has evolved in Pretoria is unofficially called Sepitori (Pretoria Sotho); it has become a language of pride, and the communities in and around Pretoria see it as a compromise between Sepedi and Setswana. Since Sotho is widely spoken in Pretoria, the communities have become so attached to this language that anyone who speaks English around them is seen as snobbish, or an elite who normally doesn't get a warm welcome by the average Pretoria township resident, and they are often labeled 'coconuts'. In the health centres of the city and surrounding townships, health information is conveyed mostly in the English language. Through observation, one may say that important information might be ignored by the people visiting public clinics and hospitals, or they might have little or no interest in reading it. This might be because of various reasons which the study will try to find out, as guided by the language policy of South Africa in the DoH. The concern in this study is the language used for the displayed information. The study attempts to assess whether consideration is given to the language(s) of the locals when health awareness campaigns are prepared.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1001976 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Mokoena, Douglas Sipho. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format |
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